Veterum Sapientia Conference

Dear Friends of the Charlotte Latin Mass Community,

Laudetur Iesus Christus! Our dear friend Father Jason Barone of the Diocese of Charlotte is organizing the 3rd Annual Veterum Sapientia Conference on August 2-8, 2015. While this year it is being held in Washington DC due to a scheduling conflict with the venue locally here in Charlotte, the goal is to return the conference to Charlotte going forward in future years.

The Veterum Sapientia conference gets its’ name from a Apostolic Constitution Veterum Sapientia decreed by Pope (Saint) John XXIII on February 22, 1962, promulgated from the High Altar of St. Peter’s Basilica and whose commandments are still legally binding on the Church:

1. Bishops and Religious superiors are commanded to apply these provisions wherever men study for the priesthood or religious life;

2. No-one is to write against the use of Latin in seminary instruction or in the liturgy, nor is he to water-down the Holy See’s will;

3. Seminarians are to be thoroughly trained in Latin before they enter theology

4. The Latin-based traditional curriculum is to return to [ALL] Catholic schools [Elementary, Primary, Secondary, and even Catholic Homeschools!].

5. Greater sacred disciplines must be taught in Latin. Those who teach in seminaries must speak Latin and use Latin books. If they cannot, they are to be replaced by those who can.

6. An Academy of Latinity to govern the use of the language is to be erected.

7. Finally, the Sacred Congregation for Seminaries is to draw up a Latin curriculum for seminaries.

If you would like to learn more, attached here is a homily that Father Barone offered on June 24th at St. Ann Catholic Church in Charlotte making the excellent case in favor of restoring the important and largely ignored law of the Church. A special thanks to Video Sancto for their help with the wonderful visual presentation.

The conference is mostly self-funding through tuition, however, there are some financial needs — the greatest of those is to offer scholarships to priests, deacons, and seminarians who wish to learn Latin. If we as a Latin Mass Community want greater availability of the Latin Mass, we need more priests competent in Latin. This conference is a way in which we can provide support to this cause.